Image sensors have become ubiquitous. They are widely used in digital still cameras, cellular phones, security cameras, as well as, medical, automobile, and other applications. The technology used to manufacture image sensors has continued to advance at a great pace. For example, the demands of higher resolution and lower power consumption have encouraged the further miniaturization and integration of these devices.
The integration of these devices into mobile devices along with the increase in data bandwidth requirements has resulted in the development of different data transfer protocols. The different data transfer protocols may define higher transfer rates. The higher transfer rates, however, may necessitate changes to the image sensors, at least with regards to receiver and transmitter circuits. For example, differential signaling may be replaced with a trio of data signals that may be used to transfer encoded symbols formed by the various signals on a trio of wires. To implement such new protocols, as noted, the image sensors may need to account for the encoding and the additional bus wires.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.